Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market
1. The US continued to be the leading destination for India’s engineering goods exports in December 2024.
- For the first time, the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region became the top region for these exports in December 2024.
- India’s engineering exports have seen consistent growth for eight months in a row.
- In December 2024, engineering exports reached $10.84 billion.
- From April to December 2024, the total value of engineering exports was $87.21 billion.
- Exports of engineering goods to the US grew by 5% to $1.64 billion in December 2024.
- In December 2024, the WANA region made up 20.8% of India’s engineering goods exports.
- WANA region was followed by North America with 19.1% and the European Union with 17.1%.
- The share of engineering goods in India’s total exports rose to 28.53% in December 2024.
Topic: Reports and Indices
2. India's business activity grew at its slowest pace in over a year in January 2025.
- The services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) have fallen to 56.8, the lowest level in 26 months, from 59.3 in December.
- Manufacturing sector PMI rose to a six-month high level of 58.0 in January, up from 56.4 in December.
- The composite PMI dropped to 57.9 in January, down from December's 59.2. This is the lowest level since November 2023.
- The job creation reached an all-time high since the survey began in December 2005.
- Cost inflation eased in the manufacturing sector but spiked in the services sector.
Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions
3. IRDAI has imposed a ₹1 crore penalty on Royal Sundaram General Insurance.
- The penalty has been imposed by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for violating norms related to outsourcing activities.
- IRDAI found that payments exceeding ₹1 crore, made to vendors during 2018-19 and 2019-20, were not reported in the outsourcing returns submitted to it.
- IRDAI also issued a warning to the insurer regarding the closure of claims.
- The warning cited insufficient documentation, which also suggested a lack of due diligence in the initial claims review process.
Topic: World Economy
4. The US has banned central bank digital currencies.
- A new crypto working group has been formed. The group is led by David Sacks.
- Other members include the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- This working group aims to make America the global leader in crypto.
- It will focus on creating a regulatory framework for digital assets.
- The group will also evaluate the possibility of a national digital assets stockpile.
- The executive order prohibits agencies from taking any action to establish, issue, or promote central bank digital currencies.
- It revokes the previous administration's Digital Assets Executive Order and the Treasury Department's Framework for International Engagement on Digital Assets.
Topic: Appointments
5. Rakesh Sharma’s re-appointment as MD & CEO of IDBI Bank has been approved by the bank’s board.
- IDBI Bank’s Board of Directors has approved his re-appointment as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) for a three-year term.
- His term will be starting from March 19, 2025. Sharma has been leading the bank since October 10, 2018.
- Before joining IDBI Bank, he served as the MD & CEO of Canara Bank.
- Earlier, IDBI bank’s major shareholders began the process of selling their shares in October 2022.
- These shareholders were Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which holds a 49.24% stake, and the Government of India, holding a 45.48% stake.
Topic: Appointments
6. Dhananjay Shukla has been elected as the president of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) for 2025.
- He is a Commerce and Law graduate and a Fellow of ICSI and is working as a company secretary in Gurugram.
- On the other hand, Pawan G. Chandak has been appointed as the Vice President of ICSI for 2025.
- He was also the Vice President of ICSI for the year 2024.
- However, Pawan G. Chandak, who has been appointed as the Vice Chairman, is a company secretary specialising in labour laws and labour welfare.
- Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI):
- ICSI is a national professional body operating under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.
- Its primary objective is to promote, regulate and develop the profession of company secretaries across the country.
- Its headquarters is in New Delhi, with four regional offices in New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.
- It was formed on 4 October 1968.
Topic: Infrastructure and Energy
7. By January 20, 2025, India's non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity has grown to 217 gigawatts.
- The New and Renewable Energy Ministry reports that in the past year, 3.4 gigawatts of wind power and a record 24.5 gigawatts of solar power have been installed.
- With 47% of all installed renewable energy capacity, solar energy continued to be the leading source of the nation's growth in renewable energy.
- With 71 percent of all utility-scale solar installations in the nation, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu were the best-performing states.
- Within ten months of its start, the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana has enabled seven lakh rooftop solar installations.
- Last year, India installed 3.4 gigawatts of new wind energy capacity, with Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Karnataka leading the way.
- Ninety-eight percent of the new wind capacity increases came from these states.
Topic: Reports and Indices
8. India’s digital economy will constitute nearly a fifth of overall GDP by 2030: ICRIER.
- India’s digital economy will contribute 13.42% in national income by the end of 2024–25. In 2022-23, its contribution was 11.74%.
- A report regarding the size of the digital economy was prepared by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).
- ICRIER in its report included the Digital share of traditional industries like trade, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) and education in the Digital Economy.
- Under this framework, the digital economy in 2022–23 was ₹28.94 lakh crore in Gross Value Added (GVA)] and ₹31.64 lakh crore (~$402 billion) in GDP.
- As per the report, Information and communications technology firms, telecom activities, and electronics manufacturing contributed 7.83% to the national GVA.
- As per the report, the contribution of sectors like e-commerce and digital-only services is currently limited.
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